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Plowing...

A few questions:
1. Is there a rule that our snowplows are not allowed to touch the street with the plow? Wondering why there is always a half-inch snow/ice pack on our streets?
2. Do we have a salt shortage? There are about 4/5 intersections in the Ben Franklin area that have been a sheet of ice for over a week...all conveniently located at intersections with hills...which is nice. They’re impossible to have missed.
3. Am I the only one that thinks that Glen Ellyn’s streets are almost always the worst plowed/salted streets in the Chicagoland area? Given the hills that we have in town, seems like a dangerous habit.

Early in the season I heard a radio interview with the head of Cook County's plow force. The weather was going to be warm enough for snow and then plummet after that. He said that you may see more packed snow on the streets than you'd like, but the rationale was that if they salt it down to the pavement (end up with puddles) and then temps drop to levels where the salt doesn't work well, you end up with ice that they can't melt. Packed snow is safer than ice is the theory.

Now, I don't think the current temperatures warrant that kind of salt rationing lately, but I thought it made sense when he was talking about it at the time. My best guess as to why the plows don't scrape the pavement more aggressively is to avoid potholes.

Driving around after the last heavy snowfall I would say Lombard and Wheaton streets in much better shape. Anyone know why?

I bike or walk from GE to the College Ave station every day, and have never noticed a substantial difference between the plow-quality on GE streets and Wheaton streets. As someone who only bikes if the roads are clear and dry, I'm usually impressed that the roads are as clear as they are.

I bike or walk from GE to the College Ave station every day, and have never noticed a substantial difference between the plow-quality on GE streets and Wheaton streets. As someone who only bikes if the roads are clear and dry, I'm usually impressed that the roads are as clear as they are.

Same here. I walk from GE to Wheaton 4-5 times a week and when the PP is covered in snow and ice, I walk along Pennsylvania/College/Seminary. While I agree that GE has, at times, been behind the cutting edge snow removal curve, not certain that anyone else is doing an appreciably better job. The road mentioned in GE is typically in the same shape as it is when it enters Wheaton.

I live on a weirdo street that is straight downhill with no way out. It is supposed to be on the village's "red zone" map when it comes to priority. Red zone, to me, meant it would get done first as there is no way out but up. This year made me think it should be named "Green Zone" as I think the color red has confused the drivers. As in, stop . . . don't go down there. Have had to call more this year about its unplowed status than any other in the 25 that I have lived here.

Humble brag or are you finally finishing your Divinity degree at Wheaton College?

Just a factual statement. I can't run, so I walk. A lot. I get up most weekday mornings at 4 AM and make my way westward to the general vicinity of the Wheaton Police Department and back. When the weather is decent, I utilize the stadium stairs at Wheaton College on my way back. I use the route describe because the PP is unusable in the winter. Unless you'd like to be in a cast. Plenty of coyotes in Wheaton by the College Avenue station. Saw a three pack yesterday traipsing across College near Summit. Came across the tracks, probably from Hoffman Park. One I don't mind as they are scrawny and even at my advanced age, guessing I could kick the **** out of it. Add two more . . . now we've got a game. And I ain't playing.

I have no one depending on my presence on a daily basis any longer other than my dog. So I have plenty of time.

I head to the arboretum on the weekends. Anyone interested in joining me . . . gimme a yell.

Just had to go to FB to take a look at your current stature. Made my way back to 2016 pic of you in a Cardinal shirt . . . and . . . if that's your current state, fairly confident I could outwaddle you over the 7-8 miles a day (not including regular old BS mileage like walking to the train and back) that I do in my current condition.

BTW:

Colorado

Obesity Ranking: 1st place
Total Gyms Ranking: 8th place
U.S. Region: Mountain

Not only is Colorado the Fittest State in our entire country, but it has maintained this status for over a decade, which is downright remarkable.

How the fittest state in America compares to the rest:

Highest rate of physical activity
Lowest rate of adult obesity
Lowest rate of adult diabetes
Second-lowest rate of hypertension
Third-lowest rate of overweight children
Fifth-lowest rate of obese children
Second-lowest rate of obesity in two to four-year-olds on WIC
Besides going to one of Colorado’s 394 fitness centers, Colorado has a lot to offer for adventures in the great outdoors.

We could all learn a thing or two from Coloradans. Their way of life is the healthiest across the U.S.!

Trying not to threadjack, but as someone who has plowed through quite a few pizzas in his day, I . . . like many semi-addicts of one thing or another . . . have become addicted to something else. Now its activity. Not unusual to do three hours of exercise a day. Two in the AM and one after work. Again, fewer and fewer people that want to hang out with me (mainly because of my thoughts about Mr. Gordon) and no one at home wants me around. Just need me for my $$$.

Trying not to threadjack, but as someone who has plowed through quite a few pizzas in his day, I . . . like many semi-addicts of one thing or another . . . have become addicted to something else. Now its activity. Not unusual to do three hours of exercise a day. Two in the AM and one after work. Again, fewer and fewer people that want to hang out with me (mainly because of my thoughts about Mr. Gordon) and no one at home wants me around. Just need me for my $$$.

I’ll hang out with you, you fitness junkie. What you have accomplished is pretty awesome and not not easy. But once you get into it, it’s becomes habit. I admire you get out and ride in the winter, something I just can’t bring myself to do.

Same here. I walk from GE to Wheaton 4-5 times a week and when the PP is covered in snow and ice, I walk along Pennsylvania/College/Seminary. While I agree that GE has, at times, been behind the cutting edge snow removal curve, not certain that anyone else is doing an appreciably better job. The road mentioned in GE is typically in the same shape as it is when it enters Wheaton.

I live on a weirdo street that is straight downhill with no way out. It is supposed to be on the village's "red zone" map when it comes to priority. Red zone, to me, meant it would get done first as there is no way out but up. This year made me think it should be named "Green Zone" as I think the color red has confused the drivers. As in, stop . . . don't go down there. Have had to call more this year about its unplowed status than any other in the 25 that I have lived here.

When I used to walk the same route to Wheaton, in the winter, I could always count on a few people living along College Avenue to not clear their sidewalk of snow. Made traversing College Avenue alot more difficult.

When I used to walk the same route to Wheaton, in the winter, I could always count on a few people living along College Avenue to not clear their sidewalk of snow. Made traversing College Avenue alot more difficult.

You're absolutely right! At about 4:30 AM, there are between zero and two cars that come eastward on College. So, I walk in the road on the south side of the street and on the rare occasion that someone is heading my way, I step up on the curb.

Just a factual statement. I can't run, so I walk. A lot. I get up most weekday mornings at 4 AM and make my way westward to the general vicinity of the Wheaton Police Department and back. When the weather is decent, I utilize the stadium stairs at Wheaton College on my way back. I use the route describe because the PP is unusable in the winter. Unless you'd like to be in a cast. Plenty of coyotes in Wheaton by the College Avenue station. Saw a three pack yesterday traipsing across College near Summit. Came across the tracks, probably from Hoffman Park. One I don't mind as they are scrawny and even at my advanced age, guessing I could kick the **** out of it. Add two more . . . now we've got a game. And I ain't playing.

I have no one depending on my presence on a daily basis any longer other than my dog. So I have plenty of time.

I head to the arboretum on the weekends. Anyone interested in joining me . . . gimme a yell.

Huh. I am basically doing the same thing on my bike (in better weather)—Prairie Path in the morning and Arboretum on many weekends.

I definitely whizzed past you on the Prairie Path on my bike a few mornings last summer. I will be out biking the path in the morning once it is mainly clear of snow and dry, and there’s “Civil Twilight” at 5:30 or so (probably mid-to-late April). I keep a decent level of speed, but give pedestrians plenty of room and warning. But still too fast to say “hello”.

But I’ll totally help you fight those coyotes, if need be. Mangy b4stards!